dr DanW wrote:
> I have several notebooks where I am using short strings that might be
> the same as the name of a symbol; for example, "x". When these
> strings show up as output, I cannot tell if I am looking at a string
> "x" or a symbol x. Is there a way I can define a Format or alter
> OutputForm so strings in output always have a different look than
> symbols, such as appearing in red or in italics?
If you want to see the double quotes around the strings when displayed
in output cells, you can set the parameter *ShowStringCharacters* to
*True* (the default is *False*).
"ShowStringCharacters is an option for Cell which specifies whether to
display " when a string is entered."
http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/ref/ShowStringCharacters.html?q=ShowStringCharacters
{Note that you can set up this option at the notebook or global level
via the options inspector.)
HTH,
--
Jean-Marc